EXECUTIVE TEAM:

Judy Blankenship Cheatham
Vice President, Literacy Services

Dr. Judy Blankenship Cheatham joined RIF in January 2011 as vice president of literacy services. Dr. Cheatham previously served as the Jefferson Pilot Professor of English at Greensboro College, as well as the coordinator of the Modern Languages and Literatures division and director of the Master of Arts program. She was also the dean of Professional and Graduate Studies.

The child, grandchild, and great-grandchild of teachers, Dr. Cheatham has been an educator for more than 30 years, teaching students from the graduate college level to the middle grades. Active in family and workplace literacy since 1986, she has trained tens of thousands of tutors, teachers, volunteers, and parents. She has served as keynote speaker for state, regional, and national conferences, and been an educational consultant to schools and communities in 31 states.

A volunteer tutor herself, the four books she authored in the literacy field are geared toward tutors, teacher aides, and parents who work with children and families. The recipient of several teaching awards, she feels her greatest recognition was being awarded National Literacy Volunteer of the Year by ProLiteracy (formerly Literacy Volunteers of America).